Interview with Amy Lynn McConahy of Clean Fiction Magazine by Lori Soard

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Author Website: https://lorisoard.com/

Original Interview (Aug 05, 2026): Lori Soard's Author Newsletter

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I had the pleasure of interviewing the very creative creator of Clean Fiction Magazine.

I’m thrilled to share a few words from the very talented Amy Lynn McConahy. She’s an author, magazine publisher, fellow Christian and all-around interesting person.

Thank you so much for joining us to talk about your wonderful magazine. Can you tell us what inspired you to start Clean Fiction Magazine?

Thank you so much for inviting me to share 😊 The decision to start Clean Fiction Magazine back in 2021 was not an easy one. At the time, my three children were small and I was also watching my cousin’s children for a total of 5 under 8 and homeschooling the older ones. It was a beautiful, chaotic, tiring time, and in the midst of it all I was trying to launch my first novel. I grew up in a marketing family that has successfully published a weekly paper for over 54 years, helped laying out papers and advertising for hundreds of customers over the years, but for some reason when I used all of the available avenues my book went nowhere. When I looked around I realized that I was not alone, independent authors and small publishing houses all around me were struggling because the Internet is such a large place and no one was specifically featuring books like ours. It did take a rather large neon sign from the Lord to start things in July of that year, but now 5 years later I’m so happy I listened.

Your family has a history in publishing. How has this driven the success of your publication?

I would say it boils down to, I didn’t start from nothing. Having a basic understanding of print publication, pricing, distribution, marketing, and software abilities put me in a great place to grow quickly. Not having to rely on other’s abilities, makes a great many things more inexpensive and accessible. The whole “Sweat Equity” trope turns out to be at least partially true. I say partially because having spent most of my life working with family, I learned that there is more power together than there is alone. This drove me to build the Clean Fiction Community and in doing so allowed me to connect with so many talented authors and creators over the years. While I handle all the mechinations behind the scenes, I’m able to display the talent of others and help them to grow their careers as well. I would be nowhere without our Clean Fiction Reviewers, Contributers, and Authors ❤️

One of the things I love about Clean Fiction Magazine is the variety of genres. I tend to be an eclectic reader, so it’s nice to have a mix of options. What went into the decision to cover a variety instead of niching down?

I am also an eclectic reader! Every genre that we feature I have read and enjoyed. Believe it or not, I am my own magazine’s target reader 😂 I was tired of having to go all over the web to find books from a variety of authors and genres that I might enjoy. Having been burnt too many times by books that looked clean from the blurb, I yearned for a place that would have everything I needed all in one resource. We have lots of readers that only read in one specific genre so I do my best to make each genre section is large as possible, but I also have noticed that in reading our magazine it encourages people to try books outside of their comfort zone. Whispers And if you want to know a little secret, many of them are surprised by how much they enjoy the variety.

Where do you see the magazine going in the next five years?

The short answer is wherever the Lord takes it. I am so blessed to work with so many amazing authors and privileged to be part of bringing attention to great, clean books and media. It is clear to me that there is a large number of people across the world who are interested in clean content, and I will do my best to continue bringing them what they enjoy 😊👍

I ordered a printed copy off Amazon. It is beautiful. Very durable material and a gorgeous layout. It was the highlight of my week. It’s the size of a magazine, so it was easy to tuck under my arm and carry places when I’d need a quick read here and there. What is your favorite part of the print version?

I am so glad that you are enjoying your copy. I work hard to make every magazine a comfortable and uplifting read. As for my favorite part, it would have to be the fact that we were able to print full color at a reasonable price. The majority of my family’s newspaper is printed in black and white and I remember when I was little the cost of color printing was exorbitant. The opportunity for professional full-color printing at a reasonable price that doesn’t require enormous bulk printing costs was a game changer for the entire industry. Print-on-demand is the best thing that could have happened to publishing. I am very pleased with Amazon’s version of this, but I also highly endorse Mixam’s version as well.

For my readers who are also writers, how can they get involved in what you do? What are your current needs and how can they advertise with you?

Because our main goal is to spread the word about independent authors and small presses, a lot of our offerings are free and our advertising prices are well below industry standards. I know that independent authors and small presses don’t have a lot of money to spare, so I’ve done my best to cater to that. Some things that we offer for free include: book reviews, writing contests, and cover art contests. The contests are open for submissions every quarter and no part of the process costs the participants a dime. We don’t have any particular openings at this time, but if you are interested in becoming a reviewer or a serial author, I am always open to an email. We don’t pay a lot, but many authors find that working for our magazine helps them get their foot in the door for better paying jobs. As for advertising, our prices start at $5, and you can find more information about sizing and pricing under “Pricing Guide” on our website.

Talk to us about your contests...

We have two writing contests that run quarterly. The first being the Windows into the Multiverse Writing Contest. This contest uses an image as the writing prompt and asks that you write a 1,000-1,500 word micro-story starting with the words “Through the window, I saw...”. This contest only accepts entrants ages 18 and above. Our second writing contest is similar to the first, but for children ages 13 to 17. This contest is called The Paths We Walk Junior Writing Contest, has a cartoon image as the writing prompt, only requires 500-1,000 words, and must begin with the words “Along the path, I saw...” Last but certainly not least, we have our Cover Art Contest which is by far our most popular. Cover art submissions are completely free and a cover can be submitted by the author or by the designer. The Clean Fiction Community votes on their favorites once per day during a 2-week voting period and the Top 6 covers are announced at the end of the contest.

You are also a published author. You’ve written Christian fantasy and poetry, among other things. How do you think your background as an author helps you create the magazine?

Being an author myself encourages me to encourage others. My own books may never be widely read, but if I can have a hand in helping another author succeed, it all feels worth it. I understand the proverbial blood, sweat, and tears that go into every page these authors create. In many ways, we have the same passions, drives, and dreams, so by being part of the Clean Fiction Community, we can work TOGETHER towards a common goal. That is the hole that Clean Fiction Magazine fills. Being an author is a very individual and sometimes lonely experience, participating in our publication allows us to pool our resources and hopefully create lasting author businesses; businesses that make us enough money to continue doing what we love ❤️

Is there anything new in the works for the magazine or yourself, as an author?

Thank you for asking 😊 I am currently polishing up my novel Dreamlight for a relaunch, writing the second book called Cadigan, and most excitingly for the magazine, I am working on digitizing every review into a searchable database. This part has been a long time coming, but I had to wait for the technological ability to become available without extensive coding knowledge. Well, that day has come, and though the process is going to take a while as we’ve reviewed over 1,800 books, it should be ready for the public soon.

What does success look like to you for this magazine?

Success for me would look like happy authors and even happier readers. I know there can be a lot of negativity and criticism within the author space because everyone seems to feel like they have to fight to be heard over everyone else. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can lift each other up and have a lot more success while doing it. Readers want clean books and who doesn’t love a full TBR Pile! When I read it’s usually back-to-back, and then I get sad when I run out of list 😂 Why not enjoy the next best book you’ve ever read, every time? I know something like that isn’t possible just trolling around on the internet or social media, but where else would I find wonderful reads? Maybe in a community of authors who enjoy writing the type of fiction I WANT to read? I’ll leave the rest up to you 😉